Blizzard is previewing some upcoming features and games today at Pax East 2015. Below will be a liveblog summary of the Blizzard Preview: Hearthstone, Overwatch, and Heroes of the Storm panel! Speaking on this panel are: Dustin Browder (Game Director, Heroes of the Storm), Eric Dodds (Game Director, Hearthstone), and Jeff Kaplan (Game Director, Overwatch).

Overking was thrilled to be invited along to Blizzard HQ to preview all the cool new stuff Overwatch is sharing at PAX! They have the closed beta date of Fall 2015, and we've also got two new heroes and a new map, check it all out here at our sister site, Overking!

Overwatch discussion, Jeff Kaplan

At Blizzcon, Overwatch was announced. This is Blizzard's first foray into FPS games. Lots of passion at Blizz to make a great shooter. "What makes this game Blizzard?" Game takes place in bright, vibrant future, full of heroes. Game is about heroes. Blizzard is a "hero factory".

Lore discussion of Overwatch - map discussion, then new map discussion of Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Relates to lore history of Overwatch crew - bringing the "band" back together. Winston, the gorilla, is trying to put Overwtach back together.

How are you going to tell stories in Overwatch? Look at details in the game such as the Blackboards in Winston's laboratory, the spawning point for heroes.

There's a hero out there for everyone that speak to different fantasies.

2 new Heroes

The Outlaw Jesse McCree, a deadeye with his revolver. Snipe people across the map, fun alternate fire. Flash bang ability, good combo ability with a stun. Can also combat roll, gives mobility. Highly skilled players will combo the roll that reloads the revolver. His ultimate ability is called Deadeye, he holsters the Peacekeeper and moves slowly, taking a count of everyone in front of him in LOS. Any skulls appear on them means a fatal shot - McCree fires again and takes all those fatal shots.

McCree Training Video

McCree brought to life by 'fantasy fulfillment' - Overwatch brough to life by diverse, heroic fantasies.

First female tank: Zarya

Championship weightlifter, extremely competitive but strife broke out near her village and put her dreams aside to defend her homeland.

Defined by: Lawful good, hero, who you want to be when you grow up.

Driven by diversity in video games, diversity in body types. We want you to know we're listening and trying hard and hope Zarya is a step in the right direction that we're paying attention.

Weapon: Particle Cannon. Beam attack shoots out about 15 metres in front of her. Short to medium range since she's a tank. Alternate fire is AOE particle explosion you can lob like a grenade.

Cannon can also put a particle barrier on her or allies, and blocks LOS.

Cool resource mechanic - as the barrier takes damage, the power on the center of her reticule goes up to 100 and the higher that goes the more damage her weapon does.

Ultimate: Graviton Surge - gravity well that sucks in enemies. Combos well with other abilities from other characters.

During the panel, Game Director Dustin Browder took the stage to discuss the Closed Beta and some of the changes we’re planning for Open Beta, leading up to launch. If you’re interested in watching a panel recap, you can find it on the official PAX Twitch channels. Beta StatsQuick Match The brawls have been coming fast and furious in the Nexus, and if you’re curious about how your favorite Heroes are faring, we have some fun stats you might enjoy. Currently, the overall win/loss percentages for our Heroes are fairly close. In fact, Diablo and Zagara are our most balanced Heroes with a win percentage right around 50%. The rest of the roster only varies from this figure by around 3%, but if you're curious, these are the current top-tier Heroes in Quick Match:

The Lost Vikings

Brightwing

Nazeebo

Uther

Rehgar

Our lowest-tier Hero is currently Chen, and going forward we may make some balance changes to bring him more closely in line with the rest of the roster. Hero League Top-tier play is very competitive, and the winningest characters in Hero League are:

Illidan

Rehgar

Sgt. Hammer

The Lost Vikings

Tyrande

Our most balanced Heroes in Hero League are Zeratul and Valla, with the lowest-tier being Murky. As always, we plan to make balance adjustments to ensure that all Heroes are viable in their own right. BattlegroundsTomb of the Spider QueenThe next new Battleground coming to the Nexus is Tomb of the Spider Queen—a small map that feels like a knife fight in a closet. It’s a dark and moody interior space where you destroy enemy minions to claim the gems they drop. Turning these gems in will summon a powerful wave of Webweavers to attack your enemies. You drop any gems you’re carrying when you die, but while your enemies can’t pick them up, savvy opponents may deny your teammates the opportunity of retrieving them. Here’s a preview of this creepy crypt:Sky TempleOur most recently released Battleground is Sky Temple— a very large map where most of your core objectives are outside the lanes. Teams must periodically fight to capture the ancient temples, defeat their guardians, and use their awesome power to destroy the enemy’s fortifications.Heroes of the Storm’s dynamic Battlegrounds provide players with interesting choices—during play, as well as when choosing Heroes, Talents, Battleground strategies, and team composition. Next Hero: Sylvanas Windrunner Today we also announced our next playable Hero—Sylvanas! The Dark Lady is a sneaky, evil Specialist Hero who specializes in high DPS and Siege damage, corrupting and cursing towers and minions to shut them down. Check out her new Hero Trailer below:Eager to see what Sylvanas looks like in action? Well look no further than this follow-up video, which showcases many of Sylvanas’s unique Abilities:First up is “Withering Fire” (Q). This ability rapidly shoots arrows at the closest enemy target for light damage, prioritizing enemy Heroes. It stores up to 5 charges and can be used while moving to quickly unleash a barrage of lethal burst damage. Targets killed by Sylvanas will replenish the ability’s charges so Sylvanas can continue to rain death upon her foes.

Next is the “Shadow Dagger” (W) ability. This ability initially deals light damage to the target and then sticks around to deals moderate damage over the next few seconds. As it deals damage, the effect spreads to nearby targets, so it’s especially useful in tightly packed groups where the effect can overtake the entire enemy force.

The third ability we showcased was “Haunting Wave” (E). This ability sends forth a wave of banshees who deal moderate damage to all targets. The ability can be reactivated to teleport to the banshees’ location for added mobility—just what a nimble ranger needs for flanking maneuvers, chases, or clutch escapes.

Next we shared Sylvanas’s first Heroic Ability, “Wailing Arrow” (R1). This ability shoots a special arrow that explodes for heavy AOE damage and silences enemies for 2.5 seconds. It’s a flexible ability that can be used to clear waves, hunt down Heroes, and interrupt their channeled abilities.

Lastly, we shared Sylvanas’s second Heroic Ability, “Possession” (R2). This ability forces an enemy Minion or Mercenary to fight for you. Targets gain bonus health and deal more damage while serving the Banshee Queen. The more powerful the target you steal, the longer you’ll have to wait to use the ability again, so there’s strategy in who you recruit. Game System UpdatesWe’ve been hard at work on a number of UI and game system improvements as well.

In addition to making your hard-won player portraits more prominent again, you’ll notice that we’ve cleaned up the Summary screen UI, prominently displaying your Account Level, Hero Level, Hero League Rank, and more. You can also see detailed contributions from each player in our Stats screen.Hero League and Team League We’ve been putting a lot of work into improving Ranked Play, and in the coming months we will be offering you a closer look at Team League, which will premiere in our next major patch. In the meantime, check out the screenshot below to see how it’s shaping up! In this mode you create up to three teams with rosters of up to nine players each for 5v5 battles. Each team will have separate rankings, allowing you to take turns playing with different groups of friends. Team League is meant to be the most competitive, ultimate expression of the best players in Heroes of the Storm, and will include a prestigious Grandmaster League, much like StarCraft II.Play Nice, Play Fair Playing nice and playing fair is important. We’re continuing to develop tools and systems that reduce toxicity so players can focus on having fun, whether they’re alone in the Nexus or playing with friends.

Mute Allies – For those moments when you want to focus on gameplay and pings, this setting will allow you to mute allied chat. We feel confident that the ping system and objectives should be enough to get you through most games.

Clans – This robust system is currently under development, and we’d love to hear your feedback about what you want out of them. We currently envision Clans as a way for players to team up with like-minded players with similar goals and interests—and we hope to offer enticing rewards for them as well.

Rating System – We’ve also heard feedback that players like the idea of a rating system for individual players, and we’re considering exploring this possibility further.

Progression We also have a number of progression updates coming in future patches:

NEW 7 Day Stimpack at Account Level 10 – This reward will also be granted to players who have already reached Account Level 10.

NEW Hero Levels 11-20 – We want players who enjoy a certain Hero to have a reason to keep playing them after they reach Hero Level 10 and get their Master Skin. As such, we’re adding additional Hero Levels and incentives.

NO Talent Gating at Account Level 30 – We’ve heard a lot of feedback on Talent Gating, where talents are unlocked by gaining Hero Levels, and we still feel that it is valuable for newer players. That being said, we respect that it can sometimes be frustrating for experienced players. As a result, we’ve decided that once players reach Level 30, they will automatically unlock all available talents on their Heroes.

More Gold In an upcoming patch we will also be offering additional gold rewards for players as they achieve various milestones within Heroes of the Storm. All of these rewards will be retroactive as well, so if you have already achieved a certain Account Level or Hero Level, you will be granted the corresponding amount of gold when the patch goes live. Stay tuned for details!

2,000 Gold at Account Levels 20, 25, 30, 35, 40

1,250 Gold at Hero Level 15

2,500 Gold at Hero Level 20

Heroes of the Dorm We also announced Heroes of the Dorm – the ultimate Heroes of the Storm collegiate tournament! College students across U.S. and Canada can team up and represent their school, with more than $450,000 in tuition and other prizes up for grabs. What’s more, anyone can fill out a fantasy bracket, cheer on their favorite schools, and win big. ESPN will deliver exclusive live coverage of Heroes of the Dorm competition on TV and digital platforms.You can find out more in our comprehensive Heroes of the Dorm announcement blog and in this video below!We'll be bringing you more updates throughout the weekend on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and right here on HeroesoftheStorm.com! If you're attending PAX East, make sure to stop by the Twitch.tv booth (#9044) in the Exhibit Hall to play the current beta version of Heroes of the Storm. Additionally, those of you hoping to get your hands on the latest Overwatch demo can do just that by visiting the Blizzard booth (#8116)! Check out our Heroes of the Storm PAX East Preview blog to find out about everything awaiting you at the convention from March 6–8!

Starcraft discussion, Browder

Campaign LotV - feeling of the Seven Samurai.

Warriors who won't be remembered or be famous but they will lay down their lives for everyone else. Tragic feeling of war, awesome feeling of nobility.

Dark tone to bring it home for the Protoss.

Raynor has concerns, but Kerrigan's having to deal with an entire race and constantly trying to evolve and build and save these monsters.

Protoss are trying to solve problems of the galaxy and dark forces of the trilogy.

Mechanically a lot like Naxxramas, new wings, new bosses, new class challenges every week, new heroic bosses, new unlocked cards every week.

Different vibe in Blackrock Mountain: All about 2 epic forces of villains that inhabit the mountain - Dark Iron Dwarves who want to increase power so let's summon Ragnaros! Didn't work out as planned - dwarves are there but Rag is really running the show.

Only thing standing in his way is Nefarian. Rules the upper spire of the mountain with Blackrock Orc Buddies.

Rend Blackhand: Battlecry: If you're holding a dragon, he destroys a legendary minion.

Card back preview

Available for pre-order March 19th/20th and gets you a card back immediately

This new adventure is coming out next month!

New Blackrock Mountain Cards and Art

Cinematic Trailer for Blackrock Mountain

Blackrock Mountain Fact Sheet

Blizzard

Blackrock Mountain is the second Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Adventure. This single-player mode will challenge duelists to build decks, adapt strategies, and conquer new villains as they strive to add new cards to their collection!

Based On Warcraft LoreThe inspiration for this adventure comes from one of the most treacherous of areas in all of Azeroth—Blackrock Mountain. Deep within its fiery depths, Ragnaros and Nefarian wage a brutal war for ultimate control of the mountain, and in doing so, have brought in malevolent creatures from all sides of the conflict to do their bidding. In this new Adventure, players will encounter many of the same Dark Iron dwarves, flame elementals, and dragons as those found deep within several classic World of Warcraft instances including Blackrock Depths, Molten Core, and Blackwing Lair.

In the MountainMuch like with the first Adventure, Curse of Naxxramas, the wings of Blackrock Mountain will open one at a time over a one month period. Players will be able to select Solo Adventures in the Hearthstone menu to access a new wing, opening up opportunities to duel all-new bosses and add even more cards to their collection.

Sinister bosses guard each wing of Blackrock Mountain and players will be rewarded with sizzling new cards for each vile villain they defeat. A total of 31 new cards can be earned upon completing this epic Adventure. After players earn Blackrock Mountain cards, they can be added to their constructed decks for use in other play modes. If players want their newly acquired cards to shine a little brighter, they’ll even be able to craft shiny golden versions.

Class ChallengesThese challenges will test players’ skills with each class in duels using a specific premade deck. Emerge victorious to earn a Blackrock Mountain-themed card (one of the 31 new cards available in this adventure) for that specific class.

Heroic ModeAfter defeating each wing, players can take on the far more challenging Heroic Mode. These fights are almost unfairly difficult, so unconventional decks and bold strategies may be required to conquer each fearsome challenge. Defeating Heroic Mode will grant the player bragging rights—and an exclusive Blackrock Mountain card back!

The ArenaAfter each wing is released, the cards available in that wing will be added to the Arena mix for everyone to play with, regardless of whether they’ve played through the Adventure.

Getting Down to BusinessThose who wish to delve deeper into the molten corridors of Blackrock Mountain will be able to purchase access to each subsequent wing with their hard-earned gold or with real money! Players will also be able to preorder Blackrock Mountain, and will receive an exclusive card back that they can use immediately. Blackrock Mountain: A Hearthstone Adventure can be explored by the bravest duelists in April.

Blackrock Mountain Press Release

Blizzard

BOSTON, MA.—March 6, 2015—Blizzard Entertainment revealed today what’s in the cards for Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™ —an all-new Adventure that will challenge brave duelists to venture forth from the comfort of the tavern and plunge into the depths of Blackrock Mountain™! The newest addition to Hearthstone’s Adventure Mode will introduce a slew of new hot-headed bosses to put players’ dueling skills to the test.

The Blackrock Mountain Adventure thrusts Hearthstone players into the middle of a war between powerful forces battling for control of the mountain. There, duelists will encounter fierce minions, including Dark Iron dwarves, fire elementals, and dragons, before facing off against iconic menaces from the Warcraft® universe, such as Ragnaros, the Firelord. Card-slingers who take down these villains will reap a mighty reward—31 scorching new cards inspired by the legendary mountain and its denizens, bringing a wealth of new tactical options to the ever-evolving Hearthstone metagame.

Coming this April to PC, Windows and Android™ tablets, and iPad®, Blackrock Mountain will open up one wing per week over the course of a month. As with the game’s first Adventure, Curse of Naxxramas, it will be accessible for either 700 in-game gold per wing or $6.99 per wing, with the entire Adventure purchasable for $24.99. Further details, including specific launch timing, will be announced in the weeks ahead. Preorders (real money only) for Blackrock Mountain will be available starting March 19, and will include an exclusive card back to those duelists ready to take on what lies within the mountain when it opens.

While Diablo III may seem easy to adapt for console play, there are a lot of quality-of-life changes:

In multiplayer mode, you'll be able to play side-by-side, as well as via the network. The camera will zoom out to accommodate players separated.

Fewer items drop from mobs, but they tend to be high quality. Items you wish to vendor can also be tagged as junk while fighting.

Higher-quality items drop from the console version because there is no Auction House as a means of obtaining gear.

Console monsters have a staggered combat rhythm, as being surprised by a cluster of mobs is exciting and fun on a PC, but less so with console mechanics.

A new event queue shows recent buffs and items looted. Symbols will pop up for all recent items showing how much of an upgrade or downgrade it is, for easy reference.

The achievement system has been converted into trophies and challenges.

Offline play is supported.

My PAX demo playthrough covered part of Act III on a Demon Hunter--Barbarians were also available. I had a blast on the Demon Hunter, as I played mine pretty intensely at launch and killed Inferno Diablo right before the first round of nerfs hit. I took a break when Mists of Pandaria beta coverage picked up, so it was fun to revisit the class. While playing, I had some questions about combat, item, and ability changes, which were answered by senior producer Julia Humphreys.

Click the cut for our PAX East interview with senior producer Julia Humphreys, as well as console screenshots and the fact sheet from the official press kit!

Over the weekend, I interviewed Hamilton Chu, Executive Producer, and Ben Brode, Game Designer, about Blizzard's newest game, Hearthstone, which was just revealed at PAX East! I also got to try out a few rounds of this fast-paced lighthearted demo as my favorite classes--Rogue and Warlock.

We've also covered the artwork, videos, and the Official Press Release and Gameplay FAQ from Blizzard in Friday's post. Also check out Blizzard's Roundup for more fansite interviews and resources.

Gameplay

Hearthstone is designed to be an accessible and fast-paced online strategy card game using popular figures from World of Warcraft:

Classes: There are nine classes total. All WoW classes are represented except for Death Knights and Monks. Each class has a unique low-cost ability that's meant to be an option if you get unlucky with card draws. For example, Warlocks can draw a card at the cost of life, while Rogues can summon a dagger that deals damage.

Decks: 30 cards can be in play for each game. You start off with three cards and gain one each turn. Players can manage their decks with the in-game Collection Manager.

Cards: Each starter deck comes with class-specific cards. For example, Mages can polymorph enemy creatures, reducing them to 1/1, while Warlocks can Hellfire, damaging everything on the board for 3. Additional cards can have a variety of effects, such as Taunt, which prevents creatures from attacking your hero directly.

Combat: Each hero starts off with 30 health. Most creatures can attack the turn after they're placed on the board, and can attack enemy creatures or the opposing player directly. Games are designed to be fast-paced and lighthearted, with creatures and heroes having custom emotes and sound effects.

Deck-building: Players can enhance their decks in several ways: Cards can be disenchanted and their Arcane Dusts can be used to craft new cards.

Packs of five cards can be purchased online through Battle.net or other payment methods.

Achievements may grant cards in the future.

Players can win other cards by defeating other players.

Practice matches can award basic cards.

In the Forge, players can play against other participants to win their deck. The decks are pre-selected from a series of randomized card choices.

In addition, there are Golden cards which affect a card's appearance but not its power.UI: Hearthstone is designed to be very accessible--helpful arrows show which enemy you're attacking. There will also be a Practice mode. In addition, there are several different gameboards (Pandaria, Alliance, Horde) that come with interactive elements. For example, you can drag rocks onto a Horde trebuchet and fling them at your opponent.

Click the cut for the interview with Executive Producer Hamilton Chu and Game Designer Ben Brode!

Blizzard's Announcement at PAX East

Blizzard is announcing something new at PAX East this Friday, and we'll be there to cover the announcement live!

The invitation Wowhead received specifically referred to a "new Blizzard project" and described it in the following way: "We've been working on a little something, different from our other games...It’s not a sequel, expansion, or that rumored next-gen MMO, but it’s something we’re excited for you to get your hands on."